Woman arrested in mysterious Costa Mesa neighborhood stabbing

A woman was arrested Wednesday in connection with a stabbing death last month in Costa Mesa, according to police, who released few other details.

Investigators arrested Maricela Raye Gomez-Lee, 50, of Santa Ana at a Lake Elsinore home. She is being held on suspicion of being an accessory to murder, with bail set at $1 million, according to the Costa Mesa Police Department.

Officials said they expect detectives to make more arrests in the case but did not elaborate.

Detectives have been investigating the death of Floriberto Villasenor Cortes, 44, since May 30, when he was found bleeding on a lawn in the 2900 block of Peppertree Lane.

Villasenor Cortes died at a hospital about an hour later, according to the Orange County coroner’s office.

Neighbors told the Daily Pilot that they saw Villasenor Cortes and another man on the street in an unfamiliar brown car sometime before the stabbing.

Police said Thursday that investigators have been “poring over volumes of evidence and conducting countless interviews.”

They asked that anyone with information about the case call Det. Michelle Bradbury at (714) 754-5120.

— Jeremiah Dobruck

Twitter: @jeremiahdobruck